Category: Deals and Cases

Schoenherr, acting as leader of a consortium of European law firms, has conducted what it describes as “a comprehensive study on the regulatory and administrative requirements for entry and trade on the gas wholesale market in the EU for the European Commission, Directorate General Energy.”

According to Schoenherr, “the study takes stock of the regulatory and administrative requirements to enter the wholesale gas market, and explores legislative means to facilitate access and trading on gas wholesale markets by setting out measures to overcome possibly disproportionate administrative and regulatory requirements which could constitute barriers to entering and trading on wholesale gas markets. The study is now published on the website of the European Commission.”

“Combining desk and field research, conducting an online survey [and] interviews and holding a stakeholder workshop in the premises of the European Commission,” Schoenherr reports, “Schoenherr, together with its partners, has drawn up a detailed map of the administrative and regulatory requirements presently regulating the access to wholesale gas markets in the EU. The consortium assessed which of the requirements potentially impose a disproportionate administrative burden on natural gas traders, and thus impede the establishment of a fully integrated European Gas Market. Based on the findings of the research, possible legislative options have been developed to address and mitigate identified trade barriers in the wholesale gas market on EU-level.”

“Our findings and recommendations will help the European Commission to enforce and improve the regulatory framework, and also identify a possible future scope for EU-wide alignment of rules and practices on the wholesale gas market,” says Schoenherr Partner Bernd Rajal, who led his firm’s team on the project. “We are proud that Schoenherr could take a leading role in this legislative study.”

In addition to Rajal, Schoenherr’s team included Vienna-based Associates Stefanie Orator-Saghy and Arian Farahmand and Sofia-based Partner Stefana Tsekova, among many others.

Sorainen has successfully defended the interests of racing organizer NASCAR in disputes involving the registration of the company’s trademark in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.

Successful in all three disputes, NASCAR was able to protect the trademark and to invalidate designations of the international registration of an identical trademark by Amaxa Pharma LTD in the Baltics.

According to Sorainen, “Amaxa Pharma LTD, the proprietor of a trademark identical to our clients’, sought to extend international registration of its NASCAR trademark to Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. Amaxa intended to use the trademark for marking medical and health goods. NASCAR does not use the NASCAR trademark for medical products and does not have trademark protection for such products. However, Amaxa Pharma LTD can potentially exploit the well-established reputation of the NASCAR trademark and its association with popular racing, misleading consumers as to the origin of the goods by using the trademark for its own products.”

In Lithuania, the issue was resolved in court, while in Latvia and Estonia it was resolved by the countries’ Industrial Property Boards of Appeal.

In Estonia, Sorainen’s team consisted of Senior Associate Olivia Kranich; in Latvia, Partner Andris Taurins; in Lithuania, Counsel Stasys Drazdauskas.

Binder Groesswang and Havel & Partners have advised BEXity and its holding company, Mutares SE & Co. KGaA, on the sale of Czech subsidiary European Contract Logistics in a management buy-out. The buyer, EC Logistics CEO Roman Goerojo, was advised by Jandura a Partneri.

Binder Groesswang describes Mutares as “a listed industrial holding company which focuses on the acquisition of corporate spin-offs with potential for operational improvement, value increase and sustainable long-term growth.” According to the firm, “Mutares acquired EC Logistics, a global provider of international road, air, and sea freight services, as part of the acquisition of the BEXity Group in November 2019. In 2019, EC Logistics generated revenues amounting to EUR 10 million with 51 employees.”

The Binder Groesswang team was led by Partner Thomas Schirmer and Senior Associate Wolfgang Guggenberger and included Senior Associates Maximilian Holtl and Clemens Willvonseder and Associates Alexandra Hochegger and Patrick Mayrhuber.

Havel & Partners advised BEXity on Czech aspects of the transaction. The firm’s team included Partner Pavel Nemecek, Senior Associate Tomas Navratil, and Counsel Josef Zaloudek

Jandura a Partneri’s team consisted of Partner Dalibor Jandura.

Bird & Bird and Kyriakides Georgopoulos have advised Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego on a credit agreement annex.

The credit agreement, now annexed for the fourth time, was initially executed in 2018. Under the agreement, Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego granted a credit of EUR 15.5 million for the development of an existing 4-star hotel and the construction of the new 5-star hotel on the Greek island of Zakynthos to Rainbow Tours S.A., as well as to White Olive A.E. and Rainbow Hotels A.E. – Greek companies which are part of the Polish Rainbow Tours Group.

According to Bird & Bird, “Annex No. 4 was signed in connection with the conclusion of an investment agreement by Rainbow Tours and White Olive with Fundusz Ekspansji Zagranicznej, managed by PFR Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych, under which FEZ invested in the development of the hotel business of the Rainbow Tours group on the Greek market. As a result of this investment, FEZ will become a minority shareholder in White Olive. The funds raised under the investment agreement with FEZ will be allocated to the acquisition of two further facilities by this company, thus expanding its hotel portfolio in Greece to five.”

Bird & Bird’s team included Counsel Maciej Georg and Junior Associate Filip Windak.

Kyriakides Georgopoulos’ team included Partner Konstantinos Vouterakos and Associate Zaphirenia Theodoraki.

Cobalt has advised Lauma Fabrics, a textile manufacturer in the Baltics and Europe, on the delivery of COVID-19 personal protective equipment to Estonia and Latvia.

According to Cobalt, “the European Medical Group and group company Lauma Fabrics have so far organized two PPE cargo deliveries to Estonia and Latvia to provide much-needed masks and respirators in the fight against COVID-19. The second delivery, on April 16, carried a record-large cargo of 3PLY surgical masks and FFP2 respirators in the Baltics, a total of four million protective masks, and 18,000 respirators. The flight costs were co-financed by the European Union within its Civil Protection Mechanism. The agreement made between Lauma Fabrics and the National Health Service of Latvia states that the company will deliver five million surgical masks and one million respirators in total, with a third delivery of PPE products expected shortly.”

Cobalt’s team in Riga included Partner Sandija Novicka, Associates Marija Berdova and Arturs Valdersteins, and Assistant Lawyer Gabriela Santare, while its team in Tallinn included Partner Martin Simovart, Counsel Elena Hansov,  Senior Associates Madis Reppo and Tonu Kolts, and Associates Liina Saaremets and Tiit-Gregor Mets.

Sorainen has successfully represented Lithuania’s E Energija against the Republic of Latvia in an ICSID arbitration.

E Energija received an award of EUR 3.1 million, following ICSID’s April 8 rejection of Latvia’s appeal for annulment of the tribunal’s 2018 award. According to Sorainen, the award, which is now final, is “recognition that Latvia violated the bilateral investment protection treaty [with Lithuania].”

According to Sorainen, “the arbitral award in the E Energija case was the first award on the merits in the ICSID case against Latvia. After arbitration lasting eight years, the arbitral tribunal ordered Latvia to compensate the Lithuanian investor for losses unjustly caused with regard to investments in Rezekne city central heating companies. As a result of arbitrary actions by Rezekne municipal institutions ‒ namely, canceling licenses previously issued to E Energija’s subsidiary Latgales Energija, as well as seizing assets and investments in the heating network ‒ the Lithuanian investor was forced to leave the market and abandon its investments. E Energija was unable to successfully protect its rights in the Latvian courts, so it filed a request for arbitration with ICSID in 2012. In its award, ICSID concluded that by allowing these actions and transferring the business to a municipal company, Latvia had violated the bilateral investment protection treaty between Latvia and Lithuania.”

Finally, according to Sorainen, “Latvia had the opportunity to voluntarily enforce the award in 2018, [but] it tried to avoid doing so by applying to annul the award. Nevertheless, the committee ‒ specially set up to review this issue ‒ unequivocally recognized that the award was lawful and the application submitted by Latvia would be rejected. In its decision, the committee likewise acknowledged that Latvia has to cover all costs related to reviewing the application.”

Sorainen’s team included Partner Valts Nerets, Senior Associate Agita Sprude, and Attorneys Daniel Kaasik and Elvis Grinbergs.

Dentons, DGKV, Karanovic & Partners, and Ilej & Partners in cooperation with Karanovic & Partners advised Hungary’s Optima Befektesi Alapkezelo on its acquisition of a 61.49% share in Globe Trade Centre S.A. from Lone Star Funds. Schoenherr advised the sellers on the deal.

Globe Trade Centre is a Polish joint stock company listed on the Warsaw and Johannesburg Stock Exchanges. An affiliate of Lone Star Funds initially acquired a stake in GTC in 2013 and increased its shareholding over time. The GTC portfolio includes commercial buildings and several development projects in Poland and various capital cities in CEE, including Budapest, Bucharest, Belgrade, Zagreb, and Sofia.

Optimum Ventures Private Equity Fund is a member of the Optima Investment Ltd group — a Hungarian long-term investor in high–quality, income-generating real estate assets in Hungary and CEE. Optima was established in 2015 with the objective to manage funds of the foundations of the National Bank of Hungary.

Dentons’ team was led by Budapest-based Partners Istvan Reczicza and Rob Irving as well as Impact Advisory Head of Advisory Services Balazs Tuske. The team also included lawyers from Dentons’ offices in Amsterdam, Bucharest, and Warsaw including Partner Kuif Klein Wassink, Jakub Celinski, and Perry Zizzi, and Associates Nora Jakab, Kamran Pirani, and Brigitta Kovacs.

The Djingov, Gouginski, Kyutchukov & Velichkov team in Sofia was led by Partner Violetta Kunze and included Counsel Kaloyan Krumov, Senior Associates Maya Vladimirova Mircheva, Rusalena Angelova, and Tsvetelina Bayraktarova, and Associates Darina Kuzeva and Martin Dimitrov.

The Karanovic & Partners team in Belgrade consisted of Senior Associates Ana Lukovic, Veljko Smiljanic, and Milorad Gajic, and Associate Marija Vicic.

The Ilej & Partners in cooperation with Karanovic & Partners team in Zagreb was led by Partner Goran Ilej and included Senior Associate Franka Baica and Associate Antonija Kanjer.

Schoenherr’s team was led by Partners Markus Piuk and Madalina Neagu and included Bucharest-based Senior Attorneys Alexandra Munteanu and Cristina Enaga. The firm’s team included Belgrade Partner Ivan Pantovic; Budapest Partner Zita Albert and Budapest Attorney Laszlo Krupl, Chisinau Attorney at Law Tatiana Iurkovska; Warsaw Partner Agata Demuth, Attorneys at Law Konrad Bisiorek and Jan Bagatela; and Zagreb Attorney at Law Ksenija Sourek.

Sorainen has advised the Kaamos Group, its Estonian subsidiary Kamos Timber, and its Belarusian subsidiary, Mozyr Sawmill, on a EUR 15 million loan from the EBRD for the construction of a new sawmill in Belarus on a brownfield site near Mozyr.

Kaamos Group operates in property development, construction, and timber in Estonia, Latvia, and Belarus.

Sorainen’s team included Partners Kiryl Apanasevich and Piret Jesse, Senior Associate Ann Laevskaya, and Associates Artem Semchik and Robin Teever.

Sorainen did not reply to our inquiry on the matter.

Editor’s Note: After this article was published CEE Legal Matters learned that Borovtsov & Salei had advised the EBRD on the deal. The firm’s team included Partner Alexander Botian, Senior Associate Nikolay Artemyev, and Associate Saman Negaresh.

Sorainen, working alongside Sweden’s Mannheimer Swartling, is advising KPMG Sweden on its acquisition of KPMG Latvia and KPMG Lithuania.

According to Sorainen, “the acquisition will bring new opportunities and will allow KPMG Sweden, KPMG Latvia, and KPMG Lithuania to become even stronger market players in the region.”

Sorainen’s team in Latvia included Managing Partner Eva Berlaus and Associate Liva Aleksejeva, and its team in Lithuania included Managing Partner Laimonas Skibarka and Senior Associate Jonas Kiauleikis.

White & Case has advised international investment company TPG Capital on a development loan for unidentified industrial premises to “serve as multi-purpose facilities for warehousing, administration, and trade and science and technology.”

White & Case’s team included Prague-based Partner Jonathan Weinberg and Prague-based Associates Katerina Hudeckova and Klara Kolomaznikova as well as Bratislava-based Associates Simona Rapava and David Stanek. 

White & Case did not reply to our inquiry on the matter.